


Each Choice

by Kojotek



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, and it's not a spoiler, teammates to lovers in 3 chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-22 11:47:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21301535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kojotek/pseuds/Kojotek
Summary: Bonding through mutual life-threatening experience isn't a foreign concept for Wraith, yet she still finds herself surprised when it happens to her.
Relationships: Mirage | Elliott Witt/Wraith | Renee Blasey
Comments: 10
Kudos: 23





	Each Choice

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting in my drafts for 3 months now and I've decided to post it or else I won't finish it ever. Hm, enjoy. If you can.

Power was all that was left and all that mattered. Your status? Gone. Your money? Worthless. In the chaos that came after IMC had been fought away from the Frontier the only thing that still mattered was connections and the amount of people ready to obey and follow. Or to adore and cheer your every step.  


Sure participating in the games made you famous, that’s mostly what it was made for, to entertain the crowd. Dozens of fans would recognize you, watch you, roar at you dealing final blows to become the Apex Champion. You had to go for the kill.  


Of course, not permanent. All of you would have been revived, sooner or later. It took time, genetically engineered cells would grow back where your regular tissue used to be, healing explosion rip offs, headshots, lost limbs and crushed bones. All that had to remain was this one critical part of your brain.  


Before joining the Games they would make you sign one paper, get you on a surgery table and made sure to bypass this part’s functions so that it would remain active even if there was no more blood to pump through. You were not supposed to ask how.  


And then each death on the arena meant you woke up days, weeks, months later being a little less and less yourself. Those who suffered serious damage sometimes reported memory loss, confusion, deja vu, a whole lots of neurological issues and not a single physical. You knew why. Because the body restoration peaked perfection but the sentience, it was still a mystery.  


Wraith signed the papers without hesitation. There was nothing to lose anyway.  


The games had begun.  


***  


The blast from the explosion was so fierce it shook the building to its foundations. The warning had come too late, she had only heard quick and terrified 'Jump!' before all the space around her burst into flames and shrapnel.  


She jumped under the steel construction of the stairs the moment she heard a blast. The sheer force knocked her down, the noise faded away leaving the deafening ringing in her ears. She couldn't see either, not sure if because of the smoke and dust or if something had happened to her eyes. Her left arm pulsated with a dull pain.  


She muffled out a moan and then a curse. She was fine, it seemed, just a little bit bruised and scratched, and most of all, trapped under a fallen construction of the stairs.  


Trapped or safe. Hard to tell.  


There was a monotonous beeping sign of a teammate needing medical attention in her comm.  


That would be the end of good news for now.  


“Mirage?” there was no response. “Lifeline?” no one answered to that call either, just a static noise.  


Wraith curled her hand into a fist and jumped straight into the void.  


The world blurred around whenever she crossed the line between dimensions. The feeling, confusing at first, after all this times felt familiar, just like opening the door and entering the room. Through the shadows of numerous alterations, through a purple maze of silhouettes whispering and reaching out to her. When Wraith came back she'd already been on the other side of her trap.  


A shiver ran through her body, she shook her head rapidly, trying to get rid of the feeling the strands of the void had stayed on her head like a spider’s web. Wraith looked around, barely seeing anything in the dust cloud. There were no gunshots outside. She let the small localisator on her wrist do the job for her.  
She found Mirage lying on the floor, the upper part of his body entirely covered with elements of the building. Only the beeping indicated he was still alive and so she started digging.  


It took throwing away a few broken planks and construction shards to reach her teammate.  


Not good.  


He was unconscious, all covered in dust and his own blood, she didn’t even know the origin.  


The beeping in her comm ceased suddenly.  


“Lifeline?”  


No answer came this time either. Wraith mumbled a curse. Thinking about it, she cared about this man a bit too much. They barely knew each other, had a few meaningless conversations, accidentally brushed hands together while reaching for the same cup in a canteen, shared a few smiles and laughs.  


“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” she whispered to Mirage, voice thick. Her hands were slightly shaking when she wiped his face from the ashes and reached for the syringe she had holstered by the tight.  


It took one confident movement, a stab in a chest, a little above the heart, she’d done this thousands of times before. Except that this time she wasn’t even sure if this was going to work. He looked critical, she knew she might have just wasted the meds…  


_ You’d be better alone.  
_

No she wouldn’t, she was outnumbered, still numb from the explosion, she needed someone to have her back.  


_ He’s useless, he’s a danger._ The Voice was pouring poison to her ears, she decided not to listen.  


The Voice was right of course.  


It would take a far more determined ruthless person to abandon teammate in need though, she wasn’t like this.  


She pulled off his glove, searched for pulse. The long fifteen seconds during which she heard only her own heavy breath. He was stabilising. She sighed with relief.  


It took him what seemed like an eternity to start opening his eyes. Wraith was still leaning above him, hands on his chest and neck. When she saw a flutter of eyelids she backed away. Mirage whined like someone woken up too early.  


He looked like a mess, his hair clotted in dark vein blood, red whites of the eyes and yet he produced a crooked smile of delight, which looked more like a parody in his state and said, voice weavering slightly, "Guess I owe you a dinner now, huh?"  


He winked, aiming for charming. Wraith rolled her eyes, a little out of her element because that sentence should not have had the impact it had on her.  


"Remind me why am I saving you?"  


"Oh, I'm simply charming and irre--" the rest of his words drowned in a coughing fit, he spat out blood to the side and wiped his mouth with the top of his hand. "Irpes-- irresponsible."  


"For once, you're not wrong. Quit talking, you don't want to suffer more damage," she ordered and trailed to the nearest remnants of window, anything to turn away from him, as she felt a warmth of her blushing cheeks.  


“Hey, was that a threat?” Mirage asked louder.  


“Maybe.”  


She was really hoping the blood has came from his gums or bitten tongue, inner injuries would make his survival questionable and her efforts futile.  


_ That's sweet, you're worried._  


Wraith's upper lip curled in a scowl. The area seemed clear, not a single movement visible, apart from trees swaying gently at the wind.  


_ I've seen him die, have you seen something else?  
_

She ignored the Voice.  


_ I've seen him die so many times, there's nothing you can do, he's just a burden.  
_

She shook her head rapidly, huffed with anger.  


"I don't need your advice," she barked out.  


"What did you say, starling?"  


_ Fine,_ the Voice audibly grined and suddenly there was only silence.  


She looked at him, brow furrowed.  


"What did you call me?"  


Before he answered he laughed shortly and coughed again a little.  


"Starling? You remind me of one, beau--"  


"Shut it," she cut him off and leaned lower, now outright lying in the ashes and remnants of the building because this time she was sure there was a movement in the water to her right.  


Did he really just try to say she was beautiful?  


Ridiculous. Besides he would without a doubt compliment anyone who merely crossed his path.  


Wraith focused on the nearest building. There indeed was someone, she could see the silhouette through the widespread bars in the window. When it disappeared from her sight and showed up walking through the front door she unlocked her pistol.  


The man stood there for a while, looked around and Wraith could swear he stared at their hideout for too long before he holstered his weapon and turned his back at them.  


_ You're in trouble.  
_

'I know,' she wanted to reply but restrained herself. She clenched her fist and slipped into the void in a blink of an eye, climbed up the devastated stairs and crouched at the top, vigilant.  


Mirage's weak voice reached her ears after a minute. "Hey, starling, did you leave me here?" She remained silent, cursing his stupidity in mind. "Aw crap, you did. I mean, that's fine, I'd leave myself too if I were you," she could hear his blabbering although his voice faltered, like he really believed there was no one to listen. "That's fine, we're fine, I'll just join you later don't wait for me. I should probably just... quit talking to myself-- oh holy crap!" His intonation changed suddenly and she couldn’t see the person at this angle but she clearly saw the shadow towering over her squadmate. "Well, guess that's it, huh."  


Mirage tried to reach for the weapon at his hip but there came a voice, harsh and wary from somewhere under her hiding spot, "I wouldn't do anything stupid if I were you."  


The shadow shifted, he was probably aiming at Mirage right now and so her squadmate showed his palms, sported an awkward smile.  


"Stupid? Never, my friend, I mean, like, why would I, it's a lost case anyway, 'twas nice to meet you, long as it lasted," he huffed a breathless nervous laughter.  


There was a heavy footstep, one, two, three, the man in a moro uniform crossed the distance between him and Mirage, exposing his back to her.  


She soundlessly slid down right behind him and reached for her wingman.  


"Don't move, I may miss and it'll hurt more," the man cooed.  


She put a gun to his neck.  


"Easy now." Her voice was strain like a string, the man froze under her touch. "Now, give me that toy you have over there, slowly, you know the rules."  


The stranger obeyed. His open left hand moved to the side, he let the pistol hang freely in the other and she pulled it out of his fingers, tossed it on the ground.  


"There you go. Try not to blink next time, you may miss me," she whispered before delivering one precise hit to his head with a stock of her gun.  


The man fell into the dust like a rag doll.  


Mirage produced half a sigh, half a wheeze and let his head fall back.  


"Jeson fucking chrysler," he breathed out, closed his eyes. "I knew you were there all along, I knew it," he assured and the relief in his voice clearly stated he hadn't. "I-- fuck!" His eyes snapped open, he ran fingers through his hair. "Holy hell. Close call."  


“It’s okay,” she tried to provide comfort, although she had no idea how. Her words turned out very gentle, soothing. Too soothing? He locked his gaze on her surprised  


Wraith stood there, observing him without a word, trying to brush off the awkwardness she just caused. She had to say something, this silence was unbearable.  
"We gotta move, can you walk?"  


Mirage gave her a look like he had never seen her in his life. He bend his knees and frowned with pain.  


"You have any more of them syringes?"  


Wraith kneeled over the unconscious man with a relief and quickly searched his pockets, thankful she could focus on anything else and just stop overthinking. He didn’t have much, but there were three med kits holstered behind his belt. She tossed one at Mirage and he caught it awkwardly.  


She could hear the sound of a syringe activation and Mirage's mumbling about 'sweet painkillers' while she went through the rest of man's pockets.  


Sadly, the man she knocked didn't have anything useful at him, and they could desperately use any supplies. She turned around, gently placed a hand on Mirage's shoulder.  


He was warm, very warm, almost like feverish, but he had to stand up and fight if they were to have any chances of survival.  


"Come on, let's move."  


Mirage seemed a bit zoned out, he glanced at her hand then furrowed eyebrows and looked up.  


"Where's Ajay?"  


"Ajay?" She answered by reflex, but then it clicked. "You mean Lifeline? I have no idea."  


"Gee, you really don't give a shit about names, do you."  


"I-- there was no occasion."  


There really was none. At least she didn't know how to pull it off, she wasn't used to telling her name when meeting new people and later it seemed somehow awkward to ask. It would lead to them asking for her name in the end.  


He fell silent for a while, packed his things up and zipped the backpack.  


"It's Elliot," he said not looking at her. "I mean, if you want to-- if you would-- Mirage is fine too if you prefer, I don't mind, it's just... forget I said anything."  


She watched him carefully, it seemed a bit of personal for him too but she lacked the context to understand why.  


"Thanks. Elliot."  


He finally raised his eyes. "And you?"  


"I'm Wraith."  


"Alright, fine," this tone sounded a bit passive aggressive. Of course. Trading names was always the worst. She hated being anonymous soul, she hated being noone. "What of him?" He pointed his chin at the unconscious man.  


She hesitated only for a brief moment before kneeling over him and breaking his neck with one fast trained movement. A loud disgusting crack sounded off, she got up and wiped her hands on the trousers. Mirage stared.  


“What?”  


He shrugged. “That was a bit… ruthless, don’t you think?”  


Was it now? This whole game was about killing, one way or another. She didn’t quite understand why Mira- Elliott. Elliott. Why was he here if finishing off opponents was something that bothered him. She didn’t know anything about him, nothing of his motivation, private life.  


“It’s quieter than a bullet. And we don’t have spare,” she explained, crossed her arms ready to fight off his response.  


To her surprise he didn’t say anything. Just glared a bit longer, one could say thoughtfully  


"We goin'?"  


It was better when some questions were left unasked. She nodded and led the path.  


°°°  


_ NEW KILL LEADER APPOINTED.  
_

_ CHAMPION ELIMINATED._  


The announcer's voice echoed in the arena. The ring was closing behind them. They'd been trying to find Lifeline but to no avail, even though their comms clearly showed she was alive somewhere, even if out of reach.  


_ Danger, close,_ the Voice warned and Wraith turned on the heel, aimed the carbine at the closing in border of the ring.  


She couldn't see anyone, bright orange wall disturbing her vision.  


"Mirage, we have company."  


"Ooh, let's give them something to play with, shall we?"  


Wraith turned to him only see two of them running in opposite directions. She startled for a second.  


"The left one, babe," he whispered and she hesitated no further, just set off running. It took two heartbeats more when the bullets wheezed above their heads. She dove for cover, felt sharp pain somewhere at her shoulder blades and hissed.  


"I'm getting hit over here, Mirage--" she yelled to the comm, confused watching him running forward like he wasn't a target. She understood everything the very next second when bullets flew right through him and the hologram burst into a fountain of blue sparks. Next thing she knew was a sound of an arch star about to go off right next to her.  


The way behind was cut off. In front of here were only giant pipes of the water treatment and a chasm above which they were laid.  


Wraith jumped forward, stumbled on uneven surface of the pipe, ducked instinctively when she heard another bullets flying. The star went of with a wheeze, half kneeling she turned and shot a series in the direction of where she thought opponents were.  


_ You're not safe here._  


"They're flanking from the top of that hill!"  


"You made a bait of me!" She barked back and ran forward, slipping on the pipe. She was slowly getting further and further away from where he must have ran and if she was going to live, she had no intents of going back. Saving him was a mistake, the voice was right all along, though she would never admit that openly.  


"Ah, two teams, crap. Where are you?" Mirage sounded distressed.  


"Deal with it now. Good luck," she seethed through gritted teeth and turned her comm off.  


Another series spattered on an iron surface below her feet and Wraith retaliated. There was no choice than to keep firing. When the second clip ran out she turned around...  


_ Watch your step!_  


It was too late, she hadn't noticed the breach in the surface and it was either jumping or falling head-first into this, so Wraith jumped clumsily, landed on the very edge of a steel construction below and fell forward with the impact, unable to counterweight her body, hands clutching on the carbine. She stared into the chasm below for too long, painfully aware she would be lucky if the fall damage would kill her on spot and when she was falling forward, hands finally releasing the gun she felt a sharp jolt when somebody clearly pulled her by the backpack.  


She tried catching the carbine back but it was already falling and she was being pulled, flying back with a force she didn't expect.  


"Gotcha!" Elliott's smiling voice sounded right behind her before they both fell heavily on the steel maintenance sidewalk. She really wished it could have been called a soft landing but it seemed like the last word to describe it when through the impact she felt every single buckle, ammo holder or other iron component of his suit. Taken the muffled groan, Mirage's touchdown on screws and steel didn't feel any better.  


They were both panting heavily. Wraith fumbled, trying to get off him desperately, eventually settling on ungracefully rolling to the side.  


Elliot grunted once again, raised on the elbows and produced the same grin he had had when she dug him from under the ruin.  


"Told you it's the left," he said still smiling.  


She was mad, probably not entirely at him, more at herself for not foreseeing any of this events, for being genuinely surprised. "I'm actually hurt you thought that bad of me, starling, how could you even--? I'm not a traitor," he was still speaking in a joking manner, while she glared. "But that's alright, there's no need to apologise, we've had some fun, it was nice."  


"Is this all a joke to you?"  


"No, all? Not all. Just like, the most of it, like, ninety percent, I'm dead serious about death," Elliott got up, dusted off his trousers and reached out to her. "Alright, let's get the hell outta here, babe, they are quite busy with themselves but might finish soon and we don't wanna get into trouble, right?"  


Wraith reluctantly accepted the help and hissed of pain when he pulled her up, feeling sharp pain under the shoulder blade.  


He immediately held her by the elbow, smile giving place a worried look on his face. "Hey, are you okay, what's going on, can you walk? You not gonna pass out, do you?"  


"I'm fine," she cut him short. "It's just a scratch, I'm gonna be fine, I--"  


Mirage's face was soft, scanning carefully hers and for a short moment she noticed some of his features she wouldn't care about earlier.  


The way his eyes, brown eyes were framed in a row of dark eyelashes. His curly hair, still blooded, falling to the side and how thoroughly the undercut was maintained. His stubble and big dry lips. It was a weird feeling, a sudden pressure in her abdomen, unwelcomed hotness of cheeks. There was no reason...  


"You sure, tho?" Elliott placed his palm on her shoulder gently.  


She mumbled an affirmation, sneaked away from his touch, pulled out a syringe. The injection was unpleasant but the medication started working really soon, turning the pain of a wound into some distant numb discomfort she could bear with.  


She pushed away the thoughts about Mirage, it was weird, unprofessional and should never have appeared in her head.  


“Lead the way,” he said and when they departed she could feel his glare at her back. Her suit was wet of blood.


End file.
